Speaking of Felonies: The White House and the Sestak 'Bribe' While Democrats continue to accuse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of being a felon until proven otherwise, itís useful to remember an apparent felony that was allegedly committed by Barack Obama's White House in 2009: the attempted bribe of Democrat Joe Sestak. Sestak claimed the Obama administration offered him a job if he would stay out of the primary in Pennsylvania for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Arlen Specter.

From one of my sources higher up in state and national Democratic circles, the word is that Joe Sestak, who just barely lost against Pat Toomey in the US Senate race, will be challenging Bob Casey in 2012. Sestak successfully knocked off Senator Arlen Spector in a primary challenge this past year, hitting him from the left. Presumably, since Casey is often billed as a conservative Democrat (but is really more of a moderate), Sestak will be doing the same thing in 2012. He likely thinks he can do it again. Currently, Sestak is on a 67 county ďThank YouĒ...

Hours after the polls closed, the nation still didnít know who would become Pennsylvaniaís junior senator, as Republican Pat Toomey and Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak were locked in a back-and-forth duel, a race too close to call. Finally victorious, Toomey thanked his supporters, of course, but he should have also thanked those most responsible for his success: Philadelphia Democrats. It was the relatively light turnout in the city that killed Sestakís candidacy. Based on the 77,000 vote statewide margin ó out of 3.9 million cast ó if just one of ten more Philadelphians voted, Sestakís election would have been a...

The PowerPoint slides presented to House Republicans in January 2009 seemed incongruously optimistic at a time when the very word ďhopeĒ belonged to the newly ascendant Democrats and their incoming president, Barack Obama. ďIf the goal of the majority is to govern, what is the purpose of the minority?Ē one slide... --snip-- He said his team was thrilled when Mr. Sestak raised a public objection, arguing that, in fact, he voted with Ms. Pelosi 97 percent of the time. In a climate where Ms. Pelosi was toxic, ďI was like, ĎJackpot,í Ē Mr. Miller said. (Mr. Sestak lost in a...

The new leaders in the U.S. house may open official investigations into the New Black Panthers case and President Obamaís job offer to Joe Sestak. On the day after the GOP took control of the House, two Republican leaders openly critical of Obama will have subpoena power as the heads of two powerful House committees. Lamar Smith of Texas will oversee the House judiciary committee and Darrel Issa of California will chair the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Both men have been critical of the Justice Departmentís handling of the New Black Panthers voter intimidation case in Philadelphia, and...

Those numbers from Philadelphia did not look good at all, and a ripple of alarm went through the war room late Tuesday. More Democrats than forecast had turned out to vote in the city, so aides to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey reworked their spreadsheets, looking for the path to victory. At 10 p.m., Democrat Joe Sestak was holding a sizable lead in the closely watched contest - until, bit by bit, Republican areas reported in with better margins than the Toomey team could have hoped. In the end, the Republican had an unassailable lead of 77,437 votes out...

Republican Tom Corbett handily won the governorship last night beating Democrat Dan Onorato. The unofficial tally with 53 districts -- 40 in Philadelphia and 13 in Delaware County -- to go was 2,136,683 votes to 1,783,581. With Republicans retaining control of the state Senate and winning the state House, Pennsylvania can make the elephant its official mascot for at least the next two years. The senate race was much closer than expected and not called until after midnight when Democrat Joe Sestak conceded to Republican Pat Toomey. The unofficial tally as of midnight was 1,993,704 votes for Toomey to 1,916,284...

I've been sitting here clicking "refresh" to get a tally of my home state Senate race. With 95.6% of the precints reporting, Toomey had about 1.835 million and Sestak had about 1.803. Next thing I know, it's 96% of the precincts reporting, and Sestak has 1.721 million. How does that happen (not that I'm unhappy about it, I should stress, I'm just wondering).

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Because it was a short ballot, results may come in more quickly than usual. ... The first results are expected at around 8:30 p.m. "If the turnout is heavy in the middle of the state, it's going to be very good for Republicans. If the turnout is heavy in Philadelphia, it will be good for Democrats," Allegheny County Republican Committee Chairman Jim Roddey said. "The numbers that we were looking for for a good day for our candidates have been met -- if not exceeded -- statewide," Allegheny County...

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak defends signing letter pushed by J Street calling for easing Gaza blockade. LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP Ė One day, months before the race to represent Pennsylvania in the US Senate entered the homestretch, Democratic candidate Joe Sestak arrived at his campaign office to find it practically empty. ďWhere is everybody?Ē Sestak told The Jerusalem Post he had asked at the time, only to be told it was Pessah. Thatís how he found out that nearly half his staff was Jewish. But on Monday, the day before Americans finally head to the polls, Sestakís headquarters in...

The outcome in a handful of Senate races could alter the political direction of the country, and abortion is a pivotal issue. America's newest cardinal is urging Catholic voters to take their faith seriously and select only candidates committed to protecting innocent life. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI announced the elevation of Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke to the College of Cardinals. Thomas McKenna, president of Catholic Action for Faith and Family, interviewed Archbishop Burke in Rome just hours after the announcement. As prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature,...

Do you want Muslim Brotherhood operatives serving in the Congress? Sestak is in the pocket of Hamas-linked Muslim Brotherhood CAIR, and I have been reporting on this evil axis since 2007. He is lying about his ties to CAIR. What does that tell you? Art Moore over at WND: 2nd Sestak scandal days before election Unindicted terrorist co-conspirator leader claims to have hosted home fundraiser for Democrat Since his election to the House in 2006, Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak has fended off strong criticism of his relationship with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a federally designated terrorist co-conspirator shown...

In his final push against Republican Pat Toomey in the Pennsylvania Senate race, an advertisement from Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak features a bag of feces collected from his family dog. Sestak swings the bag into the trash can, and equates it with the policies of his opponent. Toomeyís response to this ad is more moderated at a recent campaign event in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. With that advertisement as the baseline, though, itís hard to think of a response that wouldnít seem measured. ďThe DCC is spending more money attacking me with lies and dishonest ads than they have in any other...

Bye-bye, blue state? It looks that way, unless Democrats can crank up voter enthusiasm to match that on the Republican side. Toomey's lead extends to seven points among those more likely to vote, according to poll director G. Terry Madonna.

(Alexandria, VA) Ė As Pennsylvania Senate candidates Pat Toomey and Joe Sestak try to define their differences to voters, at least one difference can be measured in dollars and cents: according to a line-by-line analysis from the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), many tax dollars separate the federal budget platforms of the two hopefuls. Sestak would boost outlays by just over $100 billion, while Toomey would cut them by about $2.5 billion, though both have made many campaign promises whose costs or savings are unknown.

Allentown Ė As expected, Congressman Sestak lobbed one dishonest attack after another in order to try to run away from his extreme record of voting for every single bailout, record-breaking debt, hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax increases, a cap-and-trade energy tax, and government-run health care. But the truth is catching up with him. FALSEHOOD: Pat Toomey voted for the largest deficits in history. TRUTH: Actually, Joe Sestak voted for the largest deficits in U.S. history. Over his four years in Congress, Joe Sestak voted for $3.3 trillion in new deficit spending. In contrast the cumulative budget deficit...

If the two internal Democratic polls, the Public Policy Polling survey and the Morning Call/Muhlenberg College tracker weren't enough evidence that the race for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is tied, Quinnipiac University is out this morning reaffirming it. Released Friday morning, the poll finds Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey in a statistical dead heat, separated by just 2 points. Toomey is leading Sestak 48 percent to 46 percent among likely voters.

Democrats have spent months pumping millions into the Pennsylvania airwaves, but Republicans are dropping into the state this week to support Senate nominee Pat Toomey. The National Republican Senatorial Committee announced its first ad of the cycle Wednesday on behalf of Toomey, who has been leading Democrat Joe Sestak in every public poll for months.

Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) has been doing his best to hide from his own liberal record in Congress. Hoping voters will forget his two terms in the US House of Representatives during which he voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) 97% of the time, Congressman Sestak has produced campaign ads highlighting only his service in the US Navy and giving the false impression that he has gone directly from his military career to his current run for the Senate. A no-show at a scheduled debate against his Republican opponent Pat Toomey, Mr. Sestak seems to be hiding from...

US Senate candidate and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) decided to skip a debate against Republican Pat Toomey Monday night. Rather than take the stage and defend his record of support for the Obama agenda, Representative Sestak claimed he had a scheduling conflict and chose to attend a Pittsburgh fundraiser with Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and his wife Teresa Heinz instead.

Two independent polls out Wednesday bear good news for Republicans Pat Toomey in the Pennsylvania Senate race and Mike Kelly in his PA 03 race against Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D). A Quinnipiac survey of likely Pennsylvania voters finds Toomey leading Rep. Joe Sestak by 7%, 50% to 43%. That is the first time Toomey has hit 50% in a poll this year. But there are troubling signs for Sestak deeper in the poll. Pres. Obama has only a 40% approval rating in the state, according to the poll, while 56% disapprove of his job performance. "Among likely voters, President Barack...

President Obama headlined a fundraiser Monday evening for Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak's U.S. Senate bid in Pennsylvania, telling an enthusiastic crowd in the City of Brotherly Love, "the main reason I'm here is to stand next to your next Senator, Congressman Joe Sestak!"

In his last campaign ad, Pennsylvania's Democratic Congressman and US Senate candidate Joe Sestak tried to trick voters into believing he went right from his years of military service to his current campaign. He conveniently omitted his years in the US House of Representatives where he strongly supported Wall Street bailouts and the Obama agenda. In his latest ad he's at it again.

Congressman and US Senate candidate Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) has released a new ad today highlighting his 31 years of military service. The 30 second spot trumpets Mr. Sestak's military career, refers to him as Admiral Joe Sestak and states, "Now he's running to serve Pennsylvania, standing up to the bosses in both parties." But Admiral Sestak didn't go right from his military career to his current senate campaign. In between have been his 2 terms in the US House of Representatives and his strong support for the Obama agenda.

Sestak screws up. OK, that's one of those phrases that you could copy to a clipboard from which to paste into a story for convenience sake but yesterday Pennsylvania's 7th District Congressman and Democrat nominee for U.S senate has admitted to doing so, which makes it a bit more newsworthy than normal. Joe Sestak has announced that he erred in seeking to send $350,000 in taxpayer money to the Thomas Paine Foundation, which is an organization owned by Drew Devitt aimed at promoting the cause of atheism, to design a new kind of windmill which would be built by New...

The Reuters/Ipsos poll released, today , has Republican Pat Toomey up 47-37 percent among likely voters over Democrat Joe Sestak in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Among registered voters, a category historically more favorable to the Democrats, Toomey is up 40-37 percent. Meanwhile, the latest Rasmussen Poll has Toomey up 45-39 percent among likely voters with Toomey ahead 48-42 percent if leaners are factored in. In the governor's race, Reuter/Ipsos has Republican Tom Corbett head of Democrat Don Onorato 49 percent to 34 percent. In other election news, Sestak has launched his first attack ads in which he accuses Toomey to...

Reports yesterday emerged that Joe Sestak had potentially violated House ethics rules barring earmarks going to for-profit groups. Now, the Sestak campaign and the would-be earmark recipient, Drew Devitt, are offering competing, at-odds narratives. At issue is whether Sestak‚Äôs congressional office was aware that Devitt, who requested a $350,000 earmark as chairman of the Thomas Paine Foundation, also heads a for-profit group called New Way Energy, LLC., which would have ‚Äúpartnered‚ÄĚ with his foundation to develop a potentially for-profit wind prototype. The problem is: The Thomas Paine Foundation exists only on paper. Calls from Battle ‚Äė10 to the foundation were...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Ė Republican Pat Toomey has opened a 10-point lead over Democrat Joe Sestak among likely voters in a Senate race in Pennsylvania dominated by economic worries, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. Toomey, a conservative former congressman, leads Sestak, a former admiral elected to Congress in 2006, by 47 percent to 37 percent barely two months before the November 2 election to replace Democrat Arlen Specter. Toomey's lead was smaller, 40 percent to 37 percent, among a larger pool of registered voters. Sestak's troubles are another election warning for Democrats, who face potentially big losses in...

Perennial swing state Pennsylvania is swinging far to the right this election cycle according to a brand new poll. GOP candidates for Governor and US Senate have healthy leads over their Democratic opponents and an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians believe their state (currently under Democratic rule) is on the wrong track.

Joe Sestak appeared at a CAIR fundraiser in 2007 and you could chalk it up to ignorance and Kumbaya-naivete that he didn't know that the group had been connected to Islamic extremism and terrorism by the FBI. Ignorance and naivete are not traits you'd hope to see in your congressman but they don't mean that he particularly wants to see any particular nation get wiped off of the map. Last week , Sestak brought in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to endorse him. Bloomberg, a Tea-Party-hating Republican. has been unwavering in his support for Feisal Abdul Rauf's Victory Mosque near...

Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican who has broken ranks in the past with the GOP, gave Democrat Joe Sestak his second major endorsement from moderates in a week in his bid for a hotly contested Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Hagel told The Associated Press on Monday that Sestak has demonstrated during his two terms in Congress that he puts the interests of the nation and his constituents ahead of his party. "I think he's exactly what our country needs more of. I think he's what the Senate needs more of _ courageous, independent thinking," Hagel said. "That's what...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was at a strip mall in north Philadelphia on Tuesday to help Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) appeal to independents in his run for Senate. But the visit may have ended up helping Sestak only with his base. During his speech, Bloomberg said he backed, among other things, Sestak's push to close a loophole in gun-control laws, according to Fox 29. The remark wasn't included in a release the Sestak camp sent out with quotes from Bloomberg. "I'm not a particularly partisan guy," the mayor told Fox 29 after the endorsement event. "I'm supporting people...

Uh-oh. Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning this week for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee Joe Sestak, has been caught on video contradicting the Obama White House official statement on the Jobsgate scandal. Not once. Not twice. But three times. The scandal involved a February allegation by Sestak that the Obama White House offered him a job if he would back off a challenge to incumbent Democratic Senator Arlen Specter. After months of silence and controversy swirling around the issue, the White House was forced to admit it had in fact not only offered a position to Sestak but offered a choice...

Former President Bill Clinton this week denied any role in trying to lure Rep. Joe Sestak out of the Senate primary against establishment-backed Sen. Arlen Specter, an assertion that undermines a White House explanation of a controversy that left egg on the face of President Obama. Clinton made the denials three times as he responded Tuesday to a reporter asking him why he is campaigning for Sestak, who defeated Specter in the May primary, if he tried to get him to drop out of the race.

With Democratic royalty in the room, youíd think that the princes and princesses of the party would be in attendance. But even former President Bill Clinton couldnít draw the large cast of partisan elected local officials who are crucial to U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in his bid to become the next United States senator from Pennsylvania. I recognized only two name brands at Scranton High School yesterday for a campaign rally designed to spur Sestak on to victory. Sestak didnít even show up. Despite being called to an emergency vote in Washington and do the job he is paid handsomely...

In February, allegations that someone inside the Obama White House offered Pennsylvania Senate Democratic nominee and three-star Navy Admiral Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) a job in exchange for his withdrawal from the PA Senate Primary race were made by Sestak himself. In late-May, White House Counsel Robert Bauer released a memo claiming that ďThe White House Chief of Staff enlisted the support of former President Clinton who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board. Congressman Sestak declined the suggested alternatives, remaining committed to his Senate candidacy.Ē House Committee...

According to the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, Bill Clinton has now denied that he acted as a go-between with Joe Sestak and the White House on a job offer to get out of the primary for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Sestak had claimed to have received an offer of an administration job in exchange for his withdrawal, which prompted demands for a probe into potential violations of the law. The issue died down when Sestak claimed, but which Clinton never addressed publicly, that the offer was a trial balloon that came from the former President and...

Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate Candidate is hoping voters have both short and long term memory problems. Former President Bill Clinton will be making an appearance today at a campaign rally for US Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) - the very candidate the Obama administration sent Mr. Clinton to bribe into dropping out of the primary. Mr. Sestak refused the offer of a presidential advisory position, stayed in the race and defeated Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) for the Democratic nomination so now the administration is sending Mr. Clinton again - this time to pretend it's the Clinton presidency that Mr. Sestak would be...

A year ago former President Bill Clinton was sent to talk US Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) out of challenging Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) in the Democratic primary. Now after refusing the offer of an unpaid advisory job in the Obama administration in exchange for dropping out of the race and defeating Senator Specter in that primary, Mr. Clinton will appear at a Sestak rally next week. But there's more to this story than the hypocritical endorsement by Mr. Clinton of a candidate who, at the request of the Obama administration, he tried to bribe away from running at all. There's...

Does it matter if a candidate for the US Senate served as a keynote speaker for an extremist group? Does it matter if he hired one of the group's staff to serve on his staff? These are some of the questions being asked about Rep. Joe Sestak as voters learn about his ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. ................................................. ...Sestak hired CAIR's director of communications in Philadelphia, Adeeba Al-Zalman, to work in his new Washington office in 2007. Soon thereafter, Al-Zalman had arranged for Sestak to speak at CAIR's Philadelphia dinner that year. ................................................. Joe Sestak's relationship with this...

A new poll shows the Pennsylvania Senate race going from the toss-up column to the leans-Republican category. Republican Pat Toomey now leads Democrat Joe Sestak by a 7 point margin (45% - 38%) and that's only part of the story. Virtually every indicator in the poll shows this perennial swing state is swinging right.

The numbers remain little changed this month in Pennsylvaniaís race for the U.S. Senate, with Republican Pat Toomey continuing to maintain a slight lead over Democrat Joe Sestak. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Toomey with 45% support, while Sestak earns 38% of the vote. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and 12% are undecided. Last month, Toomey held a near-identical 45% to 39% lead. In fact, except for a brief surge after his mid-May victory over incumbent Arlen Specter in the stateís Democratic Senate Primary, support for Sestak...